13.4. Writing automation scripts

A software developer’s range of responsibilities includes many activities that require monitoring either constantly or on a repetitive schedule. Is the web server still running? Is the latest state on the build server OK? Is there so much data in the spam folder that it needs to be cleaned up? Did some prospect download an evaluation copy of our product?

You can easily feel like a juggler who spins as many plates as possible and merely keeps them from falling down. Figure 13.1 suggests that life would be easier if there were some device that would take care of keeping the plates spinning without our constant attention.